Voyages of the schooner Issuma

Main menu

Post navigation

We got off to a late start, knowing we would have to anchor for the night to time the currents right. The winds were light and we motored most of the way, but there was a strong enough tailwind to run wing and wing down scenic Olga Strait.

I’m not sure why the beer can is in this picture, but (at the risk of looking like an advertisement) thought it looked interesting. I also wanted to check out how a slightly different position looked on the map.

Issuma’s decks have been painted with a two-part epoxy paint (Ameron 235) with sandpaper grit mixed in. This works well in most conditions (though the grit is sharp, so it is tough on clothes and sails), but not in packed snow (ie, snow compressed by boots) or ice. The best thing I know of for a non-skid surface in packed snow and ice is Treadmaster, which comes in sheets that you cut to size and then glue onto the deck.

I bought a couple of sheets of Treadmaster on EBay, and cut them into pieces to go along the decks beside the pilothouse (the highest-traffic areas).

The UK company that makes Treadmaster sells glues for attaching it to the deck, but they are not designed for application in Alaskan winter temperatures. I’ve learned by trial and error (mostly error) not to try applying adhesives in temperatures below what the labels say to apply in.

I tried the following for glue:

Ameron 235 two-part epoxy. This is a paint, but I have successfully used it as an adhesive many times.

PL 400 adhesive sealant from the local building supply store

OSI Quad sealant from the local building supply store

So far, all the glues have worked well, but its only been a couple of months. If I find one is better or worse than others, I’ll update this.